852.75 National Telephone Company/80: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Ambassador in Spain (Laughlin)
108. The Spanish reply quoted in your telegram No. 102 is utterly unsatisfactory. We can only conclude that it was drafted with an eye to its effect locally, rather than as representing any serious effort to answer the points raised by your note of November 23, your memorandum, and your various oral representations.
Thanks to your immediate and reserved acknowledgement, we are doubtful whether a further written communication from you is required at the moment. However, we leave that up to you, merely suggesting that, if you deem it expedient to submit a further note, the communication state briefly that the American Government cannot consider the Spanish communication as altering in any sense whatever the position of the American Government as set forth on November 23. You may of course expand this in oral discussion but I do not think it would be wise to permit ourselves to be drawn into written comments concerning the various specific shortcomings of the Spanish reply No. 231.
With respect to our proposed remarks to the correspondents here tomorrow (see first paragraph of our telegram No. 107, December 3, 6 p.m.), I plan to add that we have now received an “acknowledgement” to our note of November 23, but that it has not changed the American stand described therein.